How Does Functional Medicine Work?

Functional medicine is patient-centered medical healing at its best. Instead of looking at and treating health problems as isolated diseases, it treats individuals who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances, and dysfunctions.

A named disease, such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia, might be visible above the surface, but according to functional medicine, the cause lies in the altered physiology below the surface. Almost always, the cause of the disease and its symptoms is an underlying dysfunction and/or an imbalance of bodily systems.

If health care treats just the tip of the iceberg, it rarely leads to long-term relief and vibrancy. Identifying and treating the underlying root cause or causes, as functional medicine does, has a much better chance to successfully resolve a patient’s health challenge.

Using scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing, and treatments other than drugs or surgery, functional medicine restores balance in the body’s primary physiological processes. The goal is the patient’s lifelong optimal health.

The Right Approach To Medicine

Functional medicine is patient-centered medical healing at its best. Instead of looking at and treating health problems as isolated diseases, it treats individuals who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances, and dysfunctions.

A named disease, such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia, might be visible above the surface, but according to functional medicine, the cause lies in the altered physiology below the surface. Almost always, the cause of the disease and its symptoms is an underlying dysfunction and/or an imbalance of bodily systems.

If health care treats just the tip of the iceberg, it rarely leads to long-term relief and vibrancy. Identifying and treating the underlying root cause or causes, as functional medicine does, has a much better chance to successfully resolve a patient’s health challenge.

Using scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing, and treatments other than drugs or surgery, functional medicine restores balance in the body’s primary physiological processes. The goal is the patient’s lifelong optimal health.

Why it's a Better Alternative

There is a growing dissatisfaction with simply treating symptoms. People want answers to their health issues. The beauty of functional medicine lies in its unique ability to remove clinical loads on one’s physiology, allowing the body to have the greatest opportunity to heal.

Functional medicine is just a different thinking process. It deals with looking at the root cause. It’s a step beyond alternative medicine. It requires getting a good case history of the patient. Once the condition is identified, treatment protocols may include nutritional intervention, lifestyle changes, chelating agents to rid the body of toxins, and, at times, pharmaceuticals. A resolution can be found in about 60% of patients, while offering a slowing of progression of the disease in others. We treat patients all the time who have been to a number of physicians and been told there’s not much more that can be done.